Hair-drying hood



1964 M. J. NlSSMAN 3,15

HAIR DRYING HOOD Filed Jan. 26, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet l 1964 M. J. NISSMAN 3,159,466

HAIR DRYING HOOD Filed Jan. 26, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JN' smaw A TORNEYS Dec. 1, 1964 M. J. NISSMAN HAIR DRYING HOOD 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 26, 1962 INVENTOR Mam/ n JN issmam 13% MW ATTORNEYS United States Patent Jersey Filed Jan. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 168,944 9 Claims. (CI. 34-99) This invention relates to a hood that fits over the head for confining heated air from a hot air blower about the hair to dry it, and it more particularly relates to such a hood which efliciently accommodates a wide range of sizes and shapes of hair arrangements.

A variety of forms of hair-drying hoods are currently used in conjunction with portable hair dryers for confining the heated air supplied to them through a flexible hose about the hair to efliciently dry it while the hands of the user are maintained free for other purposes. For effective operation these hoods should fulfill a number of requirements, some of which are difficultly reconcilable, such as accommodation of a wide range of sizes and shapes of hair arrangements yet maintaining the heated air flowing as close as possible to the hair in regions of the hood remote from the inlet.

An object of this invention is 'to provide a simple, economical and eflicient form of hair-drying hood that fulfills both of the aforementioned requirements.

In accordance with this invention the crown of a hood includes a cover and lining of flexible sheet material of substantial area which are substantially free of connection with each other over substantially the entire crown area to leave a space between them. An air outlet is disposed remote from a concentrated air inlet. Static pressure holes in the lining connect the space between the lining and cover with the atmosphere between the lining and head for creating pressure conditions within the space which cause parts of the lining adjacent the air outlet to be maintained closer to the head than areas adjacent the air inlet thereby obtaining remarkably even distribution of the drying action of the air passing through the hood.

A particularly effective form of this hood has its concentrated 'air inlet disposed adjacent the lower rear of the hood in back of a baflle which deflects most of the air upwardly toward the crown of the hood, and it incorporates a group of laterally-spaced outlet holes about the frontal portion of the hood having a total area slightly greater than that of the air inlet. The lining may be made substantially equal inarea to that of the cover over the crown to provide a hood of substantial volume which efficiently directs air over an extremely wide range of sizes and shapes of hair arrangements.

Novel features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art from a reading of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side View in elevation, partially broken away in cross-section, of an embodiment of this invention fitted over the head in use for drying hair;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation partially broken away in cross-section of the hood shown in FIG. 1; v 7

FIG. 3 is a side view in elevation of the hood, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in a fully expanded condition; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken through PEG. 3 along the line 4'4.

In FIGS. 1-4 is shown a hair drying hood 19 with an open bottom 12 through which a users head 14 is inserted. Securing means 16, consisting of a drawstring 18 inserted through a channel 26 around the bottom edge of hood 10, provides means for fitting open bottom 12 snugly about the head as shown in H68. 1 and 2. A

concentrated air inlet means 22 including a coupling 24,

that employed in preexisting types of hoods.

3,l59,466 Patented Dec. 1, 1964 to which a flexible hose 26 is removably attached, is connected to the lower rear portion of the hood. A baflle sheet 28 is attached within the rear of hood 10, with its lower end 30 attached to the bottom of the hood and its upper end 32 free of connection, in front of air inlet 22 for deflecting most of the inlet air upwardly toward crown 34 of the hood. A number of small holes 36 may be included in baffle sheet 28 for permitting a small controlled amount of air to impinge upon lower rear portion of the hair to dry it without unduly heating or burning the back of the neck. However, holes 36 can be eliminated when sufficient incidental air flow is deflected downwardly about the front of the bafiie 28 toward the lower rear regions of hood 10.

The crown 34 of the hood incorporates a cover 38 and a lining 40 both made of flexible sheet material, such as rubberized cloth or flexible plastic, which are substantially free of connection with each other over substantially the entire crown area leaving a space 42 between the lining and the cover through which pressure can freely equalize. However, lining 40 is tacked within cover 58 at three isolated small supporting areas or points 43 at the upper rear and sides of the hood. This prevents the static pressure in space 42 from causing lining 40 to envelop relatively smaller hair arrangements in accordance with the operating action of this hood, which is later described in detail.

Static pressure holes 44 pass through the lining to connect space 2 with the atmosphere inside of the lining. For example, four of these holes of V inch diameter are each provided in rear and frontal portions of the lining.

These static pressure holes in conjunction with space 42 create pressure conditions within the space which maintain frontal parts 46 of the lining closer to the hair than rear portions 48 with an intermediate portion 5t freely suspended in the slightly downwardly sagging curve that supporting areas 43 permit. This arrangement obtains a remarkably even distribution of the drying effect of the air passing through the hood regardless of the size and shape of hair arrangement. In the illustrated arrangement, most of the air in the rear portion of the hood is directed above and about the rear curl 52 while all of the available air in the front of the hood is maintained close to curl 54. This prevents the strong surge of hot air in the rear of the hood from burning the hair at the back, and channels it toward the front of the hood where it is needed for supplementing the partially cooled and moisture-laden air which initially passes through the hair at the back of the hood. Furthermore, the substantial area and volumeenclosing capacity of the crown of the hood makes it possible for both larger and smaller hair arrangements to be accommodated with consistently effective guidance of the heated air through the hair.

The aforementioned effective air distribution is facilitated by having the outlet area slightly greater than the inlet area namely approximately one and one-quarter times more, which is a quite different relationship from In this hood for example the air inlet is approximately one inch in inside diameter, and twenty-four outlet holes of inch diameter are laterally spaced about the lower front of the hood through cover 38 and lining 40, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, with circumferential portions 55 of cover 38 and lining 40 sealed to each other to provide passageways through hood it for the outlet air. These inlet and outlet areas in conjunction with a twelve c.f.m. flow of air and the aforementioned eight inch static holes provide remarkably effective air distribution in such a hood.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the shape of the inner lining 40 as air is flowing through the hood over a hair arrangement of the type described with the static pressure created in space 42 reacting downwardly against the force of the 3 flow of air between lining 4t) and the head. In response to this reaction, lining 40 automatically assumes a shape which efliciently equally distributes the drying effect of the air flow within the hood over all portions of the head and hair. The shape illustrated in FIG. 1 has been described, and FIG. 2 illustrates that a pair of longitudinal side sections 56 are disposed closely above longitudinal side portions of the head by the reaction of the static pressure in space 42 with the flow of air between the head and lining 40. Isolated support areas 43 prevent lining 40 from collapsing about smaller hair arrangements, and they only slightly incidentally modify the described confinement of its frontal portions about the head. Side passages 58 are also accordingly closely confined about the sides of the head by the static pressure in space 42 for maintaining the air available at lateral portions of the hood in close e'ifective contact with the hair.

The exact reason why this type of hood so efficiently distributes the drying effect of the heated air flow over the head is not absolutely completely understood. However, it is believed that its equalization of the velocity of air flowing throughout the hood and equalization of the pressure in space 42 contribute to its eificient action. However, the most important phenomenon is the confinement, by the static and dynamic air reaction-supported inner lining of the air flow close to the head near the outlet and far away from the hair near the inlet to provide the aforementioned remarkably effective drying action.

What is claimed is:

1. A hair drying hood having an open bottom adapted for insertion of a users head comprising securing means about the bottom edge of said open bottom for fitting said open bottom snugly about the head of the user, a head-receiving cover of substantially impervious flexible sheet material, a head-receiving lining of flexible sheet material attached peripherally to and disposed within said cover, said lining being substantially free of connection with said cover over substantially the entire crown area of said hood, whereby the inside of said cover and the outside of said lining form a static air space between them, the space enclosed within said lining being a head-receiving space, air outlet means in the front of said hood below the crown area of said lining in said head-receiving space, and a concentrated air inlet means in the lower rear portion of said hood communicating directly with said head-receiving space for introducing air into said hood below said crown area of said lining in said head-receiving space, said air inlet means being disposed to direct air generally upwardly along the rear of said hood and thence along and below said crown area of said lining toward said air outlet means in said front of said hood, and static pressure holes in said lining for connecting said static air space with said head-receiving space for creating a pressure within said static air space in response to the flow of air within said head-receiving space whereby parts of said lining adjacent said air outlet means are maintained closer to a head inserted within said hood than parts of said lining adjacent said air inlet means for evenly distributing the drying action of the air flowing through said hood.

2. A hair-drying hood as set forth in claim 1 wherein said air outlet means includes a number of laterally-spaced outlet holes disposed about said front of said hood which helps maintain said frontal portions held closely adjacent the head of a user, and the total area of said outlet holes being slightly greater than the area of said inlet means.

3. A hood as set forth in claim 2 wherein said total area of said air outlet means is approximately 1% times the area of said air inlet means.

4. A hood as set forth in claim 1 wherein said air inlet means includes a baffle sheet attached within the lower rear of said hood within said head receiving space and disposed in the path of air flowing into said head-receiving space, and the upper end of said baflle being open for deflecting the air impinging upon it toward the top of the hood.

5. A hood as set forth in claim 4 wherein said baffle includes small holes for allowing a small controlled amount of air to impinge against the lower back of the head and neck of the user.

6. A hood as set forth in claim 1 wherein the unconnected areas of said cover and lining over the crown portion of said hood are substantially equal in area to each other for allowing said inner lining to accommodate a wide range of sizes and shapes of hair arrangements.

7. A hood as set forth in claim 1 wherein said static pressure holes are incorporated in front and rear portions of said lining with its crown being free of said static pressure holes.

8. A hood as set forth in claim 7 wherein approximately four of said static pressure holes are provided in both the front and rear of said lining, and said static pressure holes being approximately V inch in diameter.

9. A hood as set forth in claim 1 wherein isolated spaced connected areas of small extent are provided between said cover and lining at the rear and sides of said hood for preventing said pressure in said static air space from causing said lining to envelop relatively smaller hair arrangements.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,481,407 =Fluege1 Sept. 6, 1949 2,523,915 Murphy Sept. 26, 1950 2,585,735 Bunting Feb. 12, 1952 3,006,079 Jepson Oct. 31, 1961 3,044,183 Mauch July 17, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 715,291 Great Britain Sept. 8, 1958 

1. A HAIR DRYING HOOD HAVING AN OPEN BOTTOM ADAPTED FOR INSERTION OF A USER''S HEAD COMPRISING SECURING MEANS ABOUT THE BOTTOM EDGE OF SAID OPEN BOTTOM FOR FITTING SAID OPEN BOTTOM SNUGLY ABOUT THE HEAD OF THE USER, A HEAD-RECEIVING COVER OF SUBSTANTIALLY IMPERVIOUS FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL, A HEAD-RECEIVING LINING OF FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL ATTACHED PERIPHERALLY TO AND DISPOSED WITHIN SAID COVER, SAID LINING BEING SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF CONNECTION WITH SAID COVER OVER SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE CROWN AREA OF SAID HOOD, WHEREBY THE INSIDE OF SAID COVER AND THE OUTSIDE OF SAID LINING FORM A STATIC AIR SPACE BETWEEN THEM, THE SPACE ENCLOSED WITHIN SAID LINING BEING A HEAD-RECEIVING SPACE, AIR OUTLET MEANS IN THE FRONT OF SAID HOOD BELOW THE CROWN AREA OF SAID LINING IN SAID HEAD-RECEIVING SPACE, AND A CONCENTRATED AIR INLET MEANS IN THE LOWER REAR PORTION OF SAID HOOD COMMUNICATING DIRECTLY WITH SAID HEAD-RECEIVING SPACE FOR INTRODUCING AIR INTO SAID HOOD BELOW SAID CROWN AREA OF SAID LINING IN SAID HEAD-RECEIVING SPACE, SAID AIR INLET MEANS BEING DISPOSED TO DIRECT AIR GENERALLY UPWARDLY ALONG THE REAR OF SAID HOOD AND THENCE ALONG AND BELOW SAID CROWN AREA OF SAID LINING TOWARD SAID AIR OUTLET MEANS IN SAID FRONT OF SAID HOOD, AND STATIC PRESSURE HOLES IN SAID LINING FOR CONNECTING SAID STATIC AIR SPACE WITH SAID HEAD-RECEIVING SPACE FOR CREATING A PRESSURE WITHIN SAID STATIC AIR SPACE IN RESPONSE TO THE FLOW OF AIR WITHIN SAID HEAD-RECEIVING SPACE WHEREBY PARTS OF SAID LINING ADJACENT SAID AIR OUTLET MEANS ARE MAINTAINED CLOSER TO A HEAD INSERTED WITHIN SAID HOOD THAN PARTS OF SAID LINING ADJACENT SAID AIR INLET MEANS FOR EVENLY DISTRIBUTING THE DRYING ACTION OF THE AIR FLOWING THROUGH SAID HOOD. 